Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Today In History: Early hit.

On this date in 1941, the German sub U-69 torpedoed and sank the SS Robin Moor, a US-flagged merchantman, in the South Atlantic.

Not having tagged into the cage match yet, the American government was understandably piqued. The Germans countered by pointing out that passing folding chairs to a wrassler in the ring hardly made one a "neutral" country.

3 comments:

Mikee
said...

My late father was a merchant mariner during WWII (he was too young to enlist when he ran away from the farm and went to sea). I once got him to tell me a little about his time at sea, during the Exxon Valdez oil spill news coverage. All he said was that he learned long ago that it was important to check which way the wind was blowing before jumping off a burning oil tanker, to avoid the downwind flames and smoke. God, what those boys and men did back then!

Also on this date in 1941, the German battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen sortied from Grimstad Fjord, Norway, after a stopover for fuel during the early stages of Operation Rheinubung.

There are reports that during the ensuing chase, a US Coast Guard cutter named the Modoc helped the Royal Navy find Bismarck after the battleship shook off a shadowing British cruiser. One wonders if there was any connection...